Windows 10: Cannot upgrade due to unsupported disk layout for UEFI firmware

Could be you don't have a Microsoft reserved partition (this type of partition is never shown in disk management - it should be between EFI and C where you have unallocated space). You can see it using diskpart.

From a command prompt enter the commands in red (change the select disk 0 to select disk 1 if required) and post the results. Code: Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10586] (c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.10586 Copyright (C) 1999-2013 Microsoft Corporation. On computer: Windows-vm1 DISKPART> select disk 0 Disk 0 is now the selected disk. DISKPART> list partition Partition ### Type Size Offset ------------- ---------------- ------- ------- Partition 1 Recovery 500 MB 20 KB Partition 2 System 200 MB 500 MB Partition 3 Reserved 16 MB 701 MB Partition 4 Primary 20 GB 717 MB DISKPART>[/quote]

 

Thank you for your reply. The Diskpart image is as follows:

 

Are you sure this is a GPT disk? From diskpart enter list disk. There will be a * under the gpt heading if it is like this Code: DISKPART> list disk Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- * Disk 0 Online 113 GB 128 MB * Disk 1 Online 14 GB 0 B DISKPART>[/quote] The partitions look like GPT / EUFI but there are a couple of problems... If your disk is indeed GPT type then you could make these changes...

You are missing MSR between partitions 2 and 3. You can create it with diskpart as described here How to recreate a Microsoft Reserved Partition for GPT volumes on AppAssure Agents (137589)

For you it would be

diskpart
select disk 0
create partition msr offset = 701 (The 701 is 829 from your picture above minus 128)

You can try the upgrade again at this point.

The second problem is that your ESP and Recovery are not the correct type. The upgrade may or may not check for this.

Again from diskpart (selecting the same disk). The correct partition types for WinRE and EFI can be set like this

select disk 0

select partition 1
remove
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac override
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

select partition 2
remove
set id=c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b override

 

The partitions look like GPT / EUFI but there are a couple of problems... If your disk is indeed GPT type then you could make these changes...

You are missing MSR between partitions 2 and 3. You can create it with diskpart as described here How to recreate a Microsoft Reserved Partition for GPT volumes on AppAssure Agents (137589)

For you it would be

diskpart
select disk 0
create partition msr offset = 701 (The 701 is 829 from your picture above minus 128)

You can try the upgrade again at this point.

The second problem is that your ESP and Recovery are not the correct type. The upgrade may or may not check for this.

Again from diskpart (selecting the same disk). The correct partition types for WinRE and EFI can be set like this

select disk 0

select partition 1
remove
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac override
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

select partition 2
remove
set id=c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b override[/quote] *Huh Sorry but you might have to "dumb things down" a bit, as I have no idea what a GPT disk is?

Here is the print screen when I list disk.





Trying your method to create MSR partition I get the following message:

"MSR and EFI partitions are only supported on GPT disks.
Convert the selected disk to GPT and try again."

 

You do not have a GPT partition table.

"When you deploy Windows to a UEFI-based device, you must format the hard drive that includes the Windows partition by using a GUID partition table (GPT) file system. Additional drives may use either the GPT or the master boot record (MBR) file format."

To reinstall windows, you will need to delete all the partitions on your drive, and install on the unallocated drive, that way windows can make its own partitions it needs to run.

 

I can't make sense of the above. Post 3 by the OP shows Disk 1 apparently has a UEFI structure. Does MSINFO32 report you booting in a UEFI mode under BIOS mode? You can also use Minitool Parttion Wizard to explore the partitions - Disk 1 should show partition types GPT.

Open an elevated command prompt and try the command bcdedit /export <yourfilename> (insert your choice of folder/filename). If this command fails, it indicates a problem with the boot configuration which my solution fixed. The integrity of the ESP partition seems fairly critical for Windows 10 to upgrade/install. You could try my boot configuration repair at post 7 - there is nothing to lose but ensure you do a full backup first.

If you conclude you do have an MBR disk after all, you can use the Partition Wizard function 'Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk' to convert to the GPT structure. However, I've never used this and don't know how reliable this is. Note Minitool have a bootable version of Partition Wizard which may be safer to use than trying this repair from within Windows.

 

I think that the OP has previously changed the disk partition table to MBR (Master Boot Record) and for this reason the ESP partition (300 MB) appears in the partition list.





SOURCE: The Windows 7 & 8 GPT 'Protective' MBR and EFI Partitions

One quick way to determine if a disk is GPT partitioned is to use the List Disk command of the "DISKPART" tool under a Command Prompt (may require Administrator rights). Simply enter the commands shown in GREEN below. If any attached disk has been GPT partitioned, an asterisk (*) will appear under the "Gpt" column; as shown in YELLOW for Disk 0 below:

 

The OP could just change his bios to legacy boot mode. It looks like somehow the disk got converted from a GPT disk to MBR. In the first screenshot, there is the 128mb unallocated space that would have been the 128mb "MSR" partition that serves no purpose on a GPT disk.

I wonder if at some point the original hard drive was replaced (GPT) and a clone was done but the new disk was set to MBR? In fact, looking at the first screenshot, I bet I see what happened. The original system disk was drive 0 - looks like 500gb disk. Somebody wanted to upgrade to a 1 TB disk which is drive 1. They installed the 1 TB disk as drive 1 and cloned drive 0 to drive 1 (probably by just copying partitions over and expanding the Windows system partition). They didn't set drive 1 to GPT first. Then they wiped drive 0 and created the funky single logical partition on it.

 

Convert your Disk into GPT. I got instructions from Microsoft Technet.
Change a Master Boot Record Disk into a GUID Partition Table Disk
Your welcome,
MSM

 

Thank you for the replies. Sorry but everyone must have missed the bit where I said "need to dumb it down" and "step by step instructions". You are all speaking a foreign language. OP, MBR, MSR, GPT, GUID, EUDFI, QUASIMODO??????????? How many abbreviations and acronyms are there? I am now totally confused and do not know what I am supposed to do first.

 

I'm getting the impression that's a bit more than OP is asking for and suited to deal with at the moment.

@Gumtree - would you be willing to, for the time being, try changing the boot mode in your BIOS as NavyLCDR suggests? We can help you through that.

 

Okay I just checked my bios and it appears I am already in Legacy boot mode.

 

Create a bootable Windows 10 (version 1511, build 10586) USB flash drive. Windows 10

Then you will need to reinstall Windows 10. To reinstall Windows, you will need to delete all the partitions on your drive, and install on the unallocated drive, that way Windows can make its own partitions it needs to run.

 

Have you got the option to change from Legacy to UEFI?
If so, make sure your SATA mode is in AHCI or IDE, not RAID.
Before doing that, you will need to create a copy of Legitimate Windows 10 to boot from. To do that, you can go to the following download link by Microsoft:
Windows 10 ISO
Select which Windows version you currently have, and click download.
Once you've downloaded it, you will need to download Rufus for allowing you to boot from the USB (Universal Serial Bus Controller). The link is below:
Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
When that's done, insert you're USB Drive and start up Rufus. Make sure to allow Rufus to make changes to your Computer.
Rufus should now appear. Select your USB Drive and select you're ISO. When you've done that, change the Boot Type to "GPT for UEFI Based." And click start.
You're done creating you're Legit Windows 10 Flash Drive. Leave you're flash drive in your PC and shut you're PC down. Repeatedly tap F2, F8 or Del(ete) to enter you're BIOS. You are now in your BIOS. Make the changes that I told you to at the top of my current post. Adding to that, make sure to change the boot order so that you're USB is top priority in booting first. Once you've done all of that, save your changes and exit.
Wait a while as you're USB drive is being booting in to. If it has not been booted into, restart you're PC. You are now in the Windows 10 Installer.
IMPORTANT-MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BACKED UP YOURE IMPORTANT DATA ONTO ANOTHER USB FLASH DRIVE BEFORE CONTINUING.
Press "Shift and F10," at the same time and Command Prompt will start up. Open an elevated command prompt (right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator) and type diskpart. If the disk does not contain any partitions or volumes, skip to step 6.
At the DISKPART prompt, type list disk. Make note of the disk number you want to convert.
At the DISKPART prompt, type select disk <disknumber>.
At the DISKPART prompt, type clean. The command will take 1-4 Hours to execute and will COMPLETELY ERASE you're hard drive.
Once that's done type in "convert gpt."
Type in "exit," and then type in "exit," again. You're Command Prompt Window is now closed. Carry on with the installation process. If it asks you for you're Product Key, press the Skip button.
When the screen that says Upgrade or Custom comes up, select Custom.
You're now in the Custom option. Click the next button and Windows should start Copying Files and Ggetting them Ready. When the screen that says "You're PC will restart in () seconds, pull you're USB out.
Windows should now get you're drivers ready.
Once that's done, carry on with the installation progress yourself and you are done! The only reason you will have to do the last step yourself is because it asks you personal questions and what you would prefer.
When you are at the Windows 10 home screen, insert you're USB with you're important files and drag you're files onto you're desktop. There, Windows 10 is now installed and fresh.

 

Oh noooooh! So does this mean I have to re-install Windows? This suggests I am going to lose a lot of data and will have to re-install all my software? It will also take ages. I purchased this system new with Windows 10 installed. I wonder why the tech installed it this way? I wonder if I should just leave it as is and keep using, as the thing is it works fine.

I checked bios and yes there is an option to change to UEFI. I have changed this setting and yes SATA mode was already set for IDE. The system boots normally but still will not allow the upgrade.

I still think Microsoft should provide a tool to fix this problem, considering they are the ones being so picky. The system works fine, so upgrades should be possible without the need to re-install Windows.

I am going to try Steve's solution at Post #7 first, as it seems the least "aggressive".

Solution
The successful solution I implemented is shown below.

• Perform a full backup of your Windows system (I recommend Macrium Reflect). Your PC may be unbootable if the repair is not implemented correctly.
• Boot the computer using the Windows 8 installation bootable DVD. Make sure you boot the media in the same configuration as your UEFI installation.
• On the ‘Windows Setup’ wizard click on ‘Next’ and click on ‘Repair your computer’.
• You will then see a blue screen and an option to choose.
• Click on ‘Troubleshoot’ then click on ‘Advanced Option’ and then click on ‘Command Prompt’.
• Type these commands on the Command Prompt for UEFI configuration:

• diskpart (opens Disk Partitioning tool)
• select disk 0 (or whichever disk is your system disk)
• list volume (please note the number of the volume that has no drive letter assigned and has FAT32 listed in the FS column, usually the only FAT32 volume/partition)
• select volume x <where x is the number of 100-500 MB FAT32 volume with no drive letter, or with label ESP, EFI or SYSTEM>
• assign letter=Z: (gives drive letter Z: to EFI System Partition)
• list volume (to check drive letter Z: is correctly assigned)
• exit (closes Disk Partitioning tool)
• cd /d Z:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\ (changes current folder in Command Prompt window)
• attrib Z:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD -h -r -s (removes hidden, read-only and system attributes from BCD folder)
• bootrec /fixboot (writes a new boot sector to the system partition)
• ren Z:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD BCD.old (renames BCD folder to BCD.old)
• bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb /s b: /f ALL (en-gb is for the UK - use your own locale)

Installation Checking

Your boot configuration is probably correctly configured if the following commands report correctly.

• Confirm the PC boots
• Run bcdedit and confirm boot configuration is correct. You can use bcdedit /enum all for the full details,
• Run reagentc /info and check recovery configuration is correct. In my case, Windows RE was not configured and I had to run regaentc /enable to enable it.
• Run bcdedit /export <yourfilename> and confirm the command works
• Minitool Partition Wizard may be used to explore the EFI system partition and confirm the correct files have been copied

Your Windows 10 installation should proceed correctly once the above error is fixed. I only wish Microsoft would use more informative error messages which would have saved me significant time and effort trying to solve this problem.